It is time to put together the patchwork squares! We are going to use the collage tool at PicMonkey to create our patchwork blocks. [Read more…] about Cheater Quilt Lesson Two: Assembling your color collages
Photos
Cheater Quilt Lesson One: Developing your theme & curating photos
Choose a colorway or theme.
Your first design choice is to pick a colorway for your quilt. I chose a rainbow with one patchwork square in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. [Read more…] about Cheater Quilt Lesson One: Developing your theme & curating photos
Join the Cheater Quilt Design-a-long SpoonChallenge!
Create a Custom Photo Album
Create a personalized photo album to give to your loved ones this Valentine's Day. Spoonflower crew member Eloisa shares how to use PicMonkey to make your own!
Thoughtful gifts for your loved ones are appropriate for any occasion, especially for Valentine’s Day! Surprise your friends and family with personalized photo albums by adding their names, photos, special colors and other embellishments with our woven wallpaper!
In this tutorial, I will be converting a dull, impersonal photo album to an awesome, special personalized present!
Turn Your Instagram Photos Into an iPad Case
We're thrilled to have a guest project on the Etsy blog today! Visit today's How Tuesday to learn how to design and sew an iPad or e-gadget case with fabric featuring your favorite Instagram photos.
+ Darci
DIY: Turn Your Photos into Fabric
Photographs can bring a meaningful touch to any DIY project, and PicMonkey is a free and easy way to prepare a photo for print. Check out this step by step tutorial for taking a photo and turning it into fabric to stitch up a pillow, tea towel, or your favorite sewing project!
Spoonflower Hacks: Photo + Text Fabric Wall Art
Emma from the blog Hello Beautiful visits to share two simple wall art projects. She created unique art for her home with our linen-cotton canvas, inexpensive canvas stretcher bars, an inspirational phrase, and a collage of some of her favorite family vacation photos.
Printing photos and designs onto Spoonflower’s linen-cotton canvas is a great way to create an affordable piece of wall art…or two.
Simply decide what size you want your finished canvas wall art to be and purchase a set of canvas stretcher bars in your desired dimensions. I bought mine on Amazon and they are extremely affordable– the bigger frame was about $8 and the smaller one about $6. They arrive as a bundle of planks that slot together easily.
For the smaller of my two canvases, I decided to keep the measurements under 27” x 18” so that my photo collage fitted onto one fat quarter of Spoonflower’s canvas.
Select your photo or design. I used a photo collage from a vacation for the smaller canvas and for the larger canvas, I used a design I created using tagxedo.com. I thought of a phrase I liked, typed it into the program on the website and played around with the different color and layout options until I found a design I liked. I then saved it to my computer as a regular .jpg file.
Now adjust the size of your photo or design so that is will fit the wooden frame. You can do this in a drawing application such as Microsoft Paint or in Preview on a Mac.
Spoonflower prints high quality images at 150 dpi, so in order to adjust your photo to the correct size, multiply both the width and length by 150.
For example, the frame for my photo collage measures 18” x 14” and I wanted to make my photo collage the same size.
18 x 150 = 2700 (this is the width in pixels/inch)
14 x 150 = 2100 (this is the height in pixels/inch).
When the fabric arrives, press it thoroughly to remove the fold lines.
I am by no means an expert at stretching canvases across frames, and if you are a true professional, you may want to look away now! However, with a staple gun, a pair of scissors and zero professional tools I don’t know how to use, I managed to create a canvas I am happy with. I laid the fabric face down on my work surface and placed the frame on top. By working my way around the frame and pulling the fabric taut, I was able to use a heavy duty stapler to secure the fabric to the back of the frame.
I trimmed the fabric once I had stapled the four sides down, and concentrated on getting neat corners.
And the canvases are ready to hang!
Check out more Spoonflower Hacks— DIYs that use craft materials in an unusual or personalized way– we’ve been sharing this month on the blog.
About Our Guest Blogger
Hi! I’m Emma, and as well as working on the Fiskars Design Team, I blog over at hellobeautifulblog.blogspot.com/
I’m an obsessive sewer, often leaping into projects with more enthusiasm than talent, more bravado than skill and more good luck than anything else. This technique has worked well for me so far and more often than not, I make things I love, even if they’re not absolutely perfect. And though I’m no expert, I have a passion for fabric, color and design. I know what I like and what I like makes me smile.
2012 Spoonflower Staff Challenge Pt 13: Framed Photos On Fabric
This is the thirteenth in a series of posts describing the projects that are part of our 2012 Spoonflower Staff Challenge. Voting begins tomorrow!
Thomas and Caitlin’s team was one of the cursed third shift/first shift pairings. This made it a little challenging for them to plan their project, but they were able to carve out time to meet up when their brains were both working. Sort of. (Coffee helped.) After several wired brainstorm sessions, they decided to create stretched fabric canvases that would act as frames for photos. Thomas used his rusty Photoshop skills to manipulate some awesome, textured photos that he and Caitlin had taken into neon texture wonderlands. After some color tweaking with the handy dandy Spoonflower color guide, the designs were printed onto linen/cotton canvas and were ready to be stretched and stitched by Caitlin!
Caitlin stretched the fabrics over some 8-inch x10-inch stretcher bars purchased at a local craft store using a staple gun and a bit of elbow grease.
Lining everything up at this juncture is crucial so that the background fabric doesn’t get distorted, bunched up, or gets stapled too loosely onto the frames. (Also, avoid stapling yourself!)
After stretching the background fabrics onto the frames, Thomas and Caitlin met up again with their selected photos to decide how to attach them to the background fabrics. Thomas put those rusty Photoshop skills to use once again to tweak the photos a bit before printing them onto linen/cotton canvas. Caitlin, with her mighty embroidery prowess, suggested attaching the photos with different embroidery stitches in the photo margins using bright, neon floss.
The idea was finalized and after some finger-pricking fun, the final product was finished!
Tips from Spoonflower designers, pt. 2: KristopherK on how to photograph your fabrics
A couple of days ago, Spoonflower designer Berene Campbell shared with us some great tips on photographing your Spoonflower fabrics and finished projects. Today, it's talented Australian designer KristopherK's turn. Read on for some great advice plus another giveaway!
How important do you consider taking photos of your fabrics and your projects? Do you do this for all your fabrics and projects or just some of them?
When it comes to the importance of presenting fabrics and project images online, the phrase 'putting your best foot forward' comes instantly to mind. Remember, people online will rely on your photographs and descriptions as they can't pick up and view the item for themselves. Simply clicking a camera may be quickest, but if you consider the number of hours invested in each new design or project, the extra time needed to set up a photo can be comparatively small. I think it's safe to say I always try to find creative ways to display my fabrics and my projects online.
What sort of camera do you use?
Right now I'm using a digital Sony NEX-3. As someone without any formal photography training, I find this to be a great, intuitive camera that is relatively easy to understand and use.
Do you take your photos at a particular time of day or in a particular spot? How do you deal with lighting?
Yes, I find lighting to be paramount. When taking photos of fabric inside, midday is my preferred time of day. I find here in Australia that the strong midday sun enables me to capture true-to-life colours inside, usually without the need for any extra lighting.
For taking photos inside, with a digital camera,
here are 10 "quick tips" to consider:1) Place your item near a large open window but out o
f direct sunlight.
2) Ensure the colours around your item compliment the palette within your fabric or item. For example, a neutral painted wall, or a board covered in fabric, a light box, etc.
3) Try to keep the shot simple; busy backgrounds can make it harder to differentiate your item from your room's interior.
4) When displaying patterns think about scale and the use of props. The inclusion of a cotton spool, some cute ribbon, etc can help show scale as well as balance the colour and design elements within a photo. A good prop will also compliment the "story" being told within the photo.
5) Consider the height of the camera.
When taking your photo , remember items will look different viewed from above, below, to the side etc, so experiment. Take several shots from different angles – this increases your ch ances of taking an exceptional photo and it's so easy to delete any unwanted photos later.
6) Set the focus (if this setting is available on your camera). Try for crisp images against a background blur.
7) Use a tripod to avoid undesired blur or place the camera on a solid surface prior to taking a photo.
8) I confess to wanting to avoid this tip – but before you take any photos, it's a good idea to iron your fabrics. Every little crease in a fabric has the ability to cause an unsightly line or shadow, ultimately distracting the viewer from the actual pattern in your design.
9) If you’re taking photos on a regular basis, consider rearranging a particular spot by a window that can be set up at a moments notice.
10) Think about how light and shadows fall within your photo. Remember to position yourself so that your shadow does not fall across your items. For well-lit photos, keep the strongest light behind the camera or, to create interesting linear shadows, light the subject from the side. Itrend to avoid taking photos inside on dull or overcast days. However, if this is necessary, a simple homemade light box is an invaluable aid in improving the quality of an artificial light source. A light box is also an excellent way to control the use of shadows. You can search online for more information on light boxes. This seems to be an easy looking DIY solution: How to Make An Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY
What style or mood are you going for when you photograph your fabrics and/or finished items?
One of my constant objectives is to represent 'true to life' colours, and I try to let each individual design dictate the mood. But when setting up a photo, I always consider the elements and principles of design. (For more information on these principles see JohnLovett.com)
What do you think is the biggest mistake you see in poor photos of fabrics or finished fabric items?
Did someone say they don't enjoy ironing? 🙂 Seriously though, it would be a lack of good lighting.
Do you manipulate your photos in any way once you’ve taken them?
Working with actions, textures, and layers in digital photo editing software is a fabulous way to enhance your photos but when it comes to editing photos for my Spoonflower portfolio, I prefer a "less is more" approach to ensure accurate colours and textures are maintained. I find some of the most useful techniques are also the most uncomplicated. Traditional effects like cropping, adding borders, or grouping photos together all play an important and relatively easy part in the enhancement, appearance, and presentation of design photos.
What’s the single most important thing a novice photographer should try to improve their photos of fabrics or finished items?
I think it's important to have fun and to experiment as much as possible. Search out good photography websites or magazines to learn new tips and techniques and read your camera’s manual – although since buying my new camera, this is still something on my seemingly endless "to do" list!
Thanks for the pointers, Kris! If you've read this far down and would like to be entered into a drawing to win a yard of fabric printed with your choice of one of KristopherK's designs, please just leave a comment below. We'll announce a winner for this prize, and for Berene Campbell's Retrotastic Camera Camera Bag pattern, on Monday, 10/17 at noon EST. Good luck!–GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED FOR ENTRIES. STAY TUNED FOR THE WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!
KristopherK feels incredibly lucky to have been surrounded and inspired by art and design as long as she can remember. Her life-long obsession for beautiful textiles and prints started at a very young age after a visit to Liberty, in London. She studied art, art history and textile design as electives in high school and during her final school year, was thrilled to be awarded the Inaugural Mosman Art Youth Award. Kristopherk attended the International School of Colour and Design in Sydney, Australia, where she graduated in 1999 with an Associate Diploma in Colour and Design. KristopherK sells her fabrics via her Spoonflower shop, KristopherK, and also keeps a lovely blog about her design process.
Tips from Spoonflower designers: Berene Campbell on how to photograph your fabrics
Now that it's possible to filter fabric search results on Spoonflower by photos of printed fabrics, I've been thinking about how to take a good photo lately. I personally have always found taking photographs tricky and have never considered myself particularly good at it. I'm more forgiving of myself when it comes to photographing my kids since, no matter how bad the lighting or how weird the angle, I'm always happy to see their sweet faces and antics. But photographing actual objects? Forget about it.
Taking good photos of your fabrics and your sewn projects isn't like taking photos of cute kids, and good photos are pretty critical to include on your fabric's design page given that printed fabric looks different from the onscreen version of a design. That's why it occurred to me to consult two designers on Spoonflower whose fabric and product photos really stand out to me as particularly well done.
I asked designers Berene Campbell of HappySewLucky and KristopherK a few questions about how they take their fabric and project photos and they were more than happy to share some pointers. I'll share Berene's pointers with you today and KristopherK's on Friday. We're also offering a giveaway from each designer, so read on for more!
First off, what kind of camera do you use?
Right now I don’t have an SLR, so most of my pics are taken on a Canon G10, which I love, and also quite often on my iPhone which, for a phone, takes great pics.
Do you take your photos at a particular time of day or in a particular spot? How do you deal with lighting?
I have a basic lighting set-up (white-box with 2 lights) but I don’t really like using it. I far prefer natural light. So if I can, I wait for a sunny day, or at least a not too dark one, so that I can shoot in natural light. I am lucky enough to have a southwest facing sunroom in our house. This is usually where I shoot because it has three walls of windows. But sometimes, depending on where the light is best, I shoot outside on the deck, or in the kitchen or our bathroom–any room is good if it has light!–both of which have skylights. I try and avoid direct sunlight as it creates hard shadows. If the weather is gloomy, I may use a white board as a reflector on the darker side of the image, to help boost the light a little. The way I shoot is pretty low-tech, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-ish. You don’t need fancy equipment to take good pics. Just some basic techniques.
How important do you consider taking photos of your fabrics and your projects? Do you do this for all your fabrics and projects or just some of them?
If you want your fabrics to be noticed and buzzed about then you need pics for sure. People love a bit of inspiration and eye candy. Color and design make us happy and get us talking. Sharing pics of your work is also great for chatting with other designers and sewists online. It gives you something to chat about. I’ve “met” so many lovely people through Spoonflower, Flickr etc and that would not have happened without my pics. I think I’ve photographed most of my designs. I like photographing the 3D projects the most.
What style or mood are you going for when you photograph your fabrics and/or finished items?
Most of the time I want the fabric or project to be the focus, so I tend to go clean and bright. I have a selection of cardboards that I use as backgrounds for smaller items. Larger ones I usually shoot outside if I can – on our adirondack chairs, over the deck railing, etc. Sometimes I'll add props if the design proportions are important to show, or if I think the image will benefit from it – like the pumpkins in the Pumpkin Skellie shot.
What do you think is the biggest mistake you see in poor photos of fabrics or finished fabric items?
Not ironing the fabric! This drives me nuts. Sometimes you see beautiful fabric look lousy just because an iron was not plugged in. Poor light and out-of-focus shots would be close seconds.
What’s the single most important thing a novice photographer should try to improve their photos of fabrics or finished items?
I would say to think about it before shooting: “How would this look best?” “What pics have I seen out there that looked good, and what was it about that image that made me like that design?” “Does it need any props?” It sounds obvious, but it’s so easy to just take a pic without much thought and figure it’s done. But if you look at your shot after you’ve taken it and it looks mediocre, then figure out why and take better one.
Thanks, Berene! If you'd like to read more about product photography, check out the Etsy Guide to Photography for tons of useful tips. For sheer fun, my favorite part of the series might be the "Etsy old timers" showing their back-in-the-day product photos next to the sorts of photos they take today. You can find that part here.
Have you read this far down? Good! For a chance to win Berene's new "Retrotastic Camera Bag pattern" printed on a fat quarter of upholstery-weight cotton twill, add a comment below to be entered into a drawing. We'll announce a winner for this prize this Monday, 10/17/2011 at noon EST. Good luck!–GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED FOR ENTRIES. STAY TUNED FOR A WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!
(Note that the photo is ours, not Berene's. You can tell because the fabric backdrop is not ironed!)
Berene Campbell grew up in South Africa in the seventies with a mom that sewed all her clothes and had her first sewing lessons sitting under her mother's sewing table playing with scraps. After high school, Berene studied graphic design, majoring in illustration, and continued crafty pursuits in her spare time, making mechanical wooden toys and wooden boxes. After college, Berene worked in ad agencies and design shops in Cape Town, Dubai, London, and eventually Vancouver, BC. She did some product design work for Robeez baby shoes, really enjoyed it, and decided to launch her own product line combining her love of sewing and making toys. You can find her fabrics on Spoonflower at HappySewLucky. She also runs an Etsy shop under the name HappySewLuckyShop where she sells sewing kits and embroidery patterns.